The post you are reporting:
Neil
I was active in labour for 25 years on county District and town councils
Even won a seat in a Tory stronghold !
I left labour around 9 years ago they really got worse as the years went on..
They were at the time closest to my views .
I could never support a Tory govt ..
But I won't just blindly support an opposition , with policies that just. Prop up a govt ..
Starmer may well come good , but it's not looking likely .
I'm
I'm happy to let you know
Sadly some in labour locally have taken the viewpoint that because you can no longer support labour that you are a Tory .
If you know my past(those beliefs remain unchanged )
I organised and was part of many picket lines and fighting in many unions .
In my eyes there still is a working class , different from when I started out in politics , but it's still out there
Locally labour , I had a big decision to make around three years ago when locally labour decided to stand an unknown in the ward , being fed up of trying to get politicians involved in the community assoc
I asked if they would stand a well known lab person who served on the assoc
And I would get behind him and prob win
The reply was no my friends standing and that's it .
So I had to decide what to do so I spoke to a number of people in the ward , in a seat I made safe labour over the years had become marginal , locals were urging me to stand .
After a lot of thinking , and labour unwilling to listen I stood as a community representative .
Labour told me they would win anyway .
I thought the two big party machines would stop me but at least I would have made a point and things may change .
Once I announced I was standing I was amazed
Followers of Ukip , labour , Tory, churches , and locals all asked if they could deliver my leaflet
(I wasn't going to do one )
So very quickly I had to produce one and reached every house .through this support .
The result astounded even me
I win by 130 voted and labour came third !
So I served the 2 years on the town council
Run by Indies and Tories which were poor and the labour opposition wasn't much better.
But I served my two years challenging the administration ,and opposition
Unlike political party point scoring which goes on today .
The indy party was happy to see cllr suspended with labour support in the indy mayor's word who clearly had an axe to grind with the chap .
So believing in fairness I represented him.
Now the same indy has a crusade of opposing everything labour as the admin does.
That's double standards .
Brian recently told me labour win by 100 seats
I don't share that view as you known
I think I'm like a lot of locals now that can't support a second rate Tory party that doesn't want open debate (look at the shutting down of any discussion on Israel )
It appears now if you have an alternative view you get suspended or kicked out
That's not a party I can support .
I have said labour has a problem now , it can get itself elected by carrying on with Tory policies
Being a second rate Tory party is not what we or I want .
That said it's going to be interesting now as labour self destructs and the lefties move towards opposing labour
I have to say during the previous general election campaign , the way Corbyn was treated by the media was expected , but leading MPs like Watson clearly campaigned against him , some even going to the press to tell people to vote Tory rather than Corbyn
Those people shouldnt be in the party.
So I left around 9 years ago one as a conflict of interest at the time , but also lost faith.
I kept out for 7, years .
Still encouraging all cllrs representing ward to come to communicate centre with little success
Anyway Niel you did ask lol